A school building destroyed by a cyclone in Rakhine State in Myanmar Photo: UNDP Myanmar

[Bagan, Myanmar] The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, with support from the ASEAN Secretariat and UNDP, hosts a two-day Workshop on ASEAN Recovery Planning that involves the participation of delegates from ASEAN Member States, i.e.: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, as well as delegates from other relevant ministries and departments in Myanmar and other international participants.

Recovery and rehabilitation process is a significant phase in disaster management as it bridges the response phase and development process. To emphasize the importance of recovery, the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Programme 2010-2015 has included it as one of the four strategic components. Myanmar and Indonesia are the co-chairs of the ACDM Working Group on Recovery. As such, Myanmar organizes the workshop to take stock of best practices, lessons learnt and experiences on recovery planning in ASEAN Member States, and identify common gaps, challenges and needs in recovery planning and coordination. Valuable information and knowledge that will be gleaned from the workshop will then be further used as inputs in the development of the ASEAN Disaster Recovery Toolbox.

In her opening remarks, H.E. Dr. Daw Myat Myat Ohn Khin, the Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement of Myanmar states “Through disaster resilient recovery we can avoid rebuilding risks in disaster affected areas”. This remark, again, indicates the importance of having good recovery planning in disaster-prone country as well as high-risk region.

Toily Kurbanov, UNDP Country Director in Myanmar also praised efforts of the governments of Myanmar and ASEAN member states in improving disaster risk management. “We are committed to supporting Myanmar as the incoming Chair of ASEAN to strengthen disaster resilience of the member states. Through preparation of common recovery toolkit and other practical interventions we intend to contribute to UN-ASEAN partnerships, as reinforced by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the recent UN-ASEAN meeting in Brunei Darussalam on 10 October 2013.”

As disaster is not an exclusive issue solely experienced by one country, further collaboration, cooperation and partnership with regional and international organizations are required. With such cooperation, in addition to active participation from ASEAN Member States, it is expected that ASEAN member states will be able to achieve its objective on disaster management: “building disaster-resilient nations and safer communities”.

Thurein Tun – Assistant Director, Relief and Resettlement Department, Ministry of Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Phone: +95 67 404049 or email: pyoenay83@gmail.com